1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a serrated cutting blade uniquely characterized by the shape and positioning of the sharpened teeth of the cutting edge. In a series of preferred embodiments, the blade of this invention is described as being particularly useful in combination with holders generally referred to as utility knives. However, it is to be understood that there is no intention of limiting the scope of the present invention to its utility in combination with such holders.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Your inventor readily acknowledges that serrated cutting edges for various implements are old and well-known in the prior art. Such cutting edges are, perhaps, most frequently encountered with regard to table knives and meat cutting knives and a wide variety of saw blades, straight, circular, and band.
However, other than such saw blades, serrated cutting devices have not proved particularly useful in industrial applications such as, for example, hand cutting of sheet rock, roofing shingles, cardboard, carpet and other flooring materials, and items formed from plastic. Presently, virtually all such hand cutting is accomplished by devices typically referred to as utility knives or box cutters that employ a disposable, single-edge blade as the cutting implement. In fact, the cutting implement of many such current utility knives basically comprises a single edge razor blade.
While current state-of-art utility knives using such cutting blades are certainly functional, actual use by this inventor confirms that the straight edge blades dull quickly and often cut poorly, resulting in cutting operators that are tedious and time consuming. In fact, actual experience confirms that such poor cuts are sometimes made so that excessive waste results, due to poor and/or inaccurate cuts made with start-of-the-art knives.
It is therefore clear that there remains a need in the art for an improved serrated cutting blade, preferably usable in combination with current utility knives and box cutters, that will permit more accurate and efficient hand cutting of materials such as those identified above because the improved serrated blade of this invention remains sharper during use than conventional straight edge blades.
The present invention relates to an improved serrated cutting blade of a type which may be used in combination with a handle or holder, typically referred to as a utility knife or box cutter. However, it is to be noted that such utility is not to be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present invention.
The blade is characterized by its construction comprising a body formed from a relatively thin and substantially flat metal material. The bottom edge of the body comprises a plurality of sharpened teeth with adjacent ones of the teeth defining a valley therebetween. Each of the teeth has a distal end extending away from the body, and a line connecting each of the distal ends actually defines the bottom edge of the blade. Of special note is the fact that the valleys between adjacent teeth are defined by the intersection of a first serration side of one tooth and a second serration side of an adjacent tooth. The angle of the first serration sides is less than the angle of the second serration sides, with those angles being measured with respect to a plane normal to the bottom edge between the adjacent teeth forming the valley. It is primarily the unique shape and positioning of the sharpened teeth that provide for the improved cutting characteristics demonstrated by the blade of this invention. Further details of the construction and examples of various preferred embodiments of the blade of this invention are presented below.
The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the articles hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.